Chapter 197: Trade For Wealth And Troops, Farming And War For Sustainability
“Completely conquering Thorn Ridge is a long-term process. Those human city ruins from previous generations require us to remain vigilant at all times!”
In the light of the tung oil lamp, Xuan Chong was drawing diagrams on the blackboard, while the non-commissioned officers attending the combat meeting were taking notes below.
In the first month of the first year of the Tong Zheng Calendar, Xuan Chong adopted the rotation system, continuously calling new non-commissioned officers from the rear to participate in actual combat.
For example now, the chief of staff of the Staff Department had rotated from Wu Zaixing to Wu Rui. After Xuan Chong’s opening remarks, Wu Rui replaced Xuan Chong and explained the current situation in detail to the two hundred newly arrived non-commissioned officers.
After these people finished the class, Xuan Chong would check everyone’s notes.
In these months since the eighth month of the fifth year of the Tian You Calendar, although Xuan Chong had already confirmed the enemy’s strongholds; he did not emulate Huo Qubing by traveling long distances for a nation-destroying decisive battle. Instead, he had everyone apply oil to maintain their armor and weapons, then pick up shovels, axes, and hoes.
In these months, Xuan Chong only slightly swept four nearby tree spirit gathering places; after obtaining a wave of spoils, he had large elite troops return to the Ling River Four Commanderies to rest.
Although Wang Xuance’s legend is very satisfying, it cannot be ignored that before Wang Xuance went to visit India, he had good diplomatic relations with surrounding forces, and various factions were inclined to help the Great Tang diplomatically—oh, actually, it was forming a group to rob India.
In Xuan Chong’s previous life, there were too many tragedies of “charging straight in” followed by a complete mess.
Maozi put on a scene by the Kiev River of “haste makes waste, ending up burned by the hot tofu.”
After excavating more ruins now, Xuan Chong estimated the pre-destruction strength of these ruins; he found that although these settlements were dense, their city population at the most prosperous time did not exceed two thousand.
Xuan Chong summarized that the previous generation’s southward fleeing army failed to settle down because their foundation was too weak. It was probably also after discovering the effects of the Grass Returning Pill, they arrogantly thought their village would suddenly produce a large number of martial saints. But ultimately, they overestimated their resource utilization rate and underestimated the local resistance forces.
From the sediments, it can be seen that these forces that built isolated cities would suddenly experience a strength gap after developing to a certain extent; then they would collapse in the final invasion. In other words, after several consecutive battles, personnel losses reached the limit and they directly collapsed.
Summarizing the experience of previous failures. The strategy adjustment Xuan Chong carried out was to leverage their own manpower advantage.
In the current Da Yao turmoil, manpower is almost infinite. These mobilized people do not necessarily have to participate in combat; even daily reclamation activities can disrupt the stability of the region.
In the latter half of the first month of the first year of the Tong Zheng Calendar, after the rotated officers and soldiers spread the news back that this place abounds in plant sap that can be consumed to increase cultivation and advance; even though the other side of the news is that the Southern Border has demons and ghosts, it could not stop the various merchant groups and gangs in Da Yao from becoming restless.
Xuan Chong’s plan: Even if in the subsequent frictions with Thorn Ridge’s native demons, the Yao People’s small-scale probing battles suffer one-tenth battle losses; under the urging of high profits, there will still be twenty times the number of people coming from Da Yao’s land to try their luck.
Xuan Chong: Don’t say this is Thorn Ridge, even if it’s a full-health Lion Camel Ridge, I’ll stockpile a wave and take it down for you!
Although the Wu Family Army is no longer advancing now, for the reclamation villages, towns, and stockades along the way, they are making large-scale investments in farm tools, logging trees, and improving fertile land; villages that originally had only about a hundred people are now being built into towns that can accommodate a thousand guests. The large areas of opened land sometimes cannot all be planted with grain, so they simply sow forage for horse breeding.
Xuan Chong’s goal is to strengthen the economic diversity of this southward territory, making the future risk resistance capital higher. And this can only be done in the early stage of reclamation.
On this border line, it relies on strength in numbers. Moreover, it needs to attract population to settle here.
…Farming and War is the foundation of establishing a nation, the Tang Dynasty is a negative textbook…
Historical summary: The demise of the Guiyi Army at the end of the Tang was not due to lack of “wealth”; stuck on the trade route collecting tolls, gold and silver and spices were specialties, but they lacked population reproductive capacity.
In the early Tang Dynasty, the model of the Western Regions military system was to continuously attract young Tang men westward through profits. Tang men who completed wealth accumulation returned to the inland at the same time, becoming prefectural soldiers who could self-equip armor and horses. —Thereafter, neither Ming nor Song had such a low-cost soldier-raising system, so they could not control the Western Regions.
In theory, Tang martial artists from the Central Plains would continuously head west for wealth. After the Battle of Talos, the Tang people suffered a small setback.
But every twenty years, the Tang Dynasty would accumulate a batch of elites, one wave, two waves, three waves, continuously challenging Arabia. The population growth advantage of the Central Plains could ultimately wear down the Arabia Empire with its inland arid climate until it collapsed.
But history did not allow the Great Tang to continue prospering in this model. The great warming starting from the end of Western Wei not only created the momentarily glorious Great Tang, but also allowed farming on the plateau. Tibet quickly entered the feudal empire stage.
When Tibet, which could farm and reproduce in the Western Regions, confronted the Tang Dynasty’s Western Regions traveling merchant troops, the Great Tang’s Western Regions elites were quickly exhausted, the trade routes were cut off causing profits to plummet, the Tang central group got no money, had no power to send people west, thus local military got no supplements, thus unable to protect trade routes, goods decreased, lacking attraction to Central Plains armies, creating a vicious cycle.
Trade routes can generate wealth, but farming can form feudal military organizations. Without military organizations based on farming, no matter how much money, it’s all castles in the air.
But later Qianlong took another model, painstakingly settling military households there, with no short-term benefits visible, but continuously reproducing blood locally.
Therefore, Xuan Chong shifted his perspective past the strongholds in the trade route areas, investing in areas slightly away from trade routes but suitable for large-scale field planting; dispatching army corps to reclaim on a large scale, then leaving a team of soldiers, giving them enough villagers and plow oxen to set up fortified villages.
And set up governor districts. Within the governor districts, the status of fortified villages is set equal to that of post towns on trade routes. Moreover, the governor district cannot be in the post town, but in the reclamation area; this ensures the post town’s money is used to purchase ironware and plow oxen for the fortified villages.
In this year, Xuan Chong gave a wave of great emancipation to the slaves in the Southern Border.
Once their slave marks were removed, they were directly settled on these newly reclaimed farmlands.
…Merit unmatched in history…
In the fourth month of the first year of the Tong Zheng Calendar, Xuan Chong’s southward army, led by Xuan Chong himself, began farm work, building fortified cities, showing the appearance of permanent settlement.
This caused some morale fluctuation. But for any battalion officer who wavered, Xuan Chong directly zeroed their southward merits, rotated them back, and replaced them with Da Yao refugees who had lost their land to participate.
These refugees initially had complaints when arriving in the hot Southern Border; but after seeing Xuan Chong’s show and the promise that seven-tenths of the planted fields here could be theirs, they stabilized.
Stimulated by farmland, Xuan Chong completed a five-meter-high ramming earth city wall at the large camp on the “Ting Zhu Tan” line, and installed ballistas.
And during slack farming periods, arranged laborers to train with firearms.
Several rivers were all equipped with carved tamed beasts, this is Da Yao black technology; with tamed beasts stationed in mountains and rivers, the entire land began to become “ancient”; river ditches were no longer frivolous creases made by young people laughing around, but profound like an elder’s wrinkles.
These river channels can now accommodate fifty-ton inland transport ships, and transport ships can collect military supplies from various merchant stations via docks for the military farms. Note: Currently, nutrient blocks made from wood fiber can still supply the large army, but the large army needs straw sandals, water canteens, dry lime powder, pottery, etc., and ironware repairs, all needing rear logistics areas to complete.
After the fifth month of the first year of the Tong Zheng Calendar, Xuan Chong spent a few more months perfectly strengthening his garrison point before starting to further compress the force range of Thorn Ridge.
In the ninth month of the first year of the Tong Zheng Calendar, entering the dry season, after measuring the position of the high-pressure belt from high altitude, Xuan Chong began having the large army continue advancing south, establishing a new garrison point seventy kilometers further south.
What, why calculate the “high-pressure belt” above the atmosphere? The airspace over high-pressure belt areas is clear skies for thousands of miles without precipitation. Crisp autumn weather, ignites easily, favorable for “fire system” kills.
Xuan Chong did not suddenly gain flexible use of this knowledge. It was data from certain still-usable modules inside the Chi You Ship that suddenly reminded Xuan Chong of a lot of high school common knowledge.
For example, one of the Chi You Ship’s standby functions has a project “launch artificial satellite to detect atmosphere.”
Xuan Chong confirmed he could not repair the artificial satellite system, and paid homage to that thing named “hail technique” which is actually a weather weapon.
The Chi You Ship’s database once recorded the operation process of this weather weapon:
“Tian Qi Calendar ***, fifteenth day of the eighth month, launched magnetic energy satellite at twenty-seven minutes past morning, deployed at five eighty in the evening, force field locked atmospheric cloud group.” (What the Tian Qi Calendar is, Xuan Chong doesn’t know; after the Chi You Ship crashed, the relevant database was destroyed.)
From analyzing a large amount of images and text, Xuan Chong learned that it pressed hot air over hundreds of square kilometers below not allowing it to rise, while accumulating large amounts of cold air above.
When the atmospheric potential energy reached a terrifying level, release the atmospheric force field isolation. Strong convection occurs when cold and hot air streams meet, and at the same time invest “frost swarms” (Xuan Chong doesn’t understand what this is exactly, but roughly knows it acts as condensation nuclei), making the condensation process extremely exaggerated, rapidly forming large hailstones over twenty centimeters in diameter.
“So, you’re unleashing heavenly disasters to suppress the Southern Border region with nation destruction, right?” Xuan Chong expressed confusion to Chi You’s intelligent assistant. But the next second, “Good grief, the Chi You Ship’s artifact spirit admitted it.”
Of course, this thing cannot be used now unless Xuan Chong exchanges academic credits for it.
This “exchange,” Xuan Chong casually asked his history teacher system about it, and the damn system said it could really repair the Chi You Ship, consuming 2.1 academic credits; however, the classroom would be extended. For this, Xuan Chong “hahaha”d and brushed it off.
Although the fleet’s weather weapons are currently ineffective, missing the module ability to “adjust above the high-pressure belt.”
But Xuan Chong found its reserved weather observation equipment module was still good, so he hoisted hydrogen balloons for a wave of observation over the Southern Border.
The “tree seasonal change map” provided by the Chi You Ship was recorded by Xuan Chong in the silk book.
…Now the timing of heaven and earth is just right…
This round of dispatch is still mainly harassment. Wu Zhantie led a two-thousand-man exploration team, seventy percent of which were Southern Border vassal army, equipped with sufficient firearms and cannons, conducting surprise attacks on four predetermined locations in the jungle.
These four points, in Xuan Chong’s observations, all have neat hedges, with a very prominent special large tree in the center.
Wu Zhantie’s team is full of talents, including Wen Si Ting this palace attendant. Wen Si Ting has already drawn qi into the body, he is luckier than most cultivators, at acquired sixth layer of martial qi, and most importantly, the tiger mount he chose has awakened wings.
That’s right, this tiger is offspring of Wu Hanluan’s Winged Tiger. Wen Si Ting now leads two teams totaling forty-eight Fire Rhinoceros Heavy Cavalry troops. This is currently the strongest unit under Wu Zhantie, all Yao People nationals, the most reliable.
On the other side, Shen Wanqing looked at the three groups of firearm troops he was leading, sighing that his promotion was a bit too fast. And the sect side?
As Xuan Chong entered the Chi You Ship these past few days, Shen Wanqing was constantly messaged by the sect over these months, urging him to watch Wu Yuanchang.
The sect urged him again: after gaining Xuan Chong’s trust, destroy this “fierce weapon” before Xuan Chong brings disaster to under heaven.
But the problem is, the sect thought Xuan Chong would use the fierce weapon for bloodbath in Southern Border to condense killing intent, but actually Xuan Chong just went to the Chi You Soldiers for a wave of weather balloons.
Shen Wanqing had to sigh that the sect absolutely misjudged the Wu Family’s new Military Master. The sect views Wu Fei as demonic path, and demonic path is eager for quick success, would brute force when encountering obstacles in killing. In that case, the “fierce weapon” would be taken out to be stained with blood.
But the result is, Xuan Chong follows the Imperial Way, suppressing the army corps’ “impetuosity and killing intent,” holding back the large army’s impatient zeal. The “conquest” of Southern Border seems casual, instead very concerned with farming.
Shen Wanqing is in the military camp, connected in spirit with these two hundred war horses; whenever forming military formation, everyone’s aura synchronizes. (Mental coordination between people), far more harmonious than past sect brothers.
At least fellow disciples who apprenticed together won’t make sacrifices to match others in the current great tribulation, but seek their own freedom. But the military family’s soldiers will risk life to protect each other. Naturally, the military camp’s morale also fluctuates his Dao Heart.
He touched the spirit contract on his chest, this is the spirit talisman the sect places on disciples going down the mountain for tasks. It can receive sect commands, of course also restrains down-mountain disciples from violating sect precepts.
Under Shen Wanqing’s perception different from others, every breath of his armored soldiers, every step, now flows like sea waves following his mindset and aura fluctuations, stirring his blood qi, like a file, grinding the spirit contract implanted in his body before going down the mountain into full of holes.
Shen Wanqing now further has massive vital energy converting to blood qi, filling bone marrow and organs, and mixed with killing intent, the spirit contract is already teetering, ultimately shattering.
Way of Heaven changes, cultivate immortality, martial cultivation, all are practice. For cultivators, if with sufficient supplements, and following a constantly victorious large army, nourishing soul through battle, entering the Dao through martial is entirely possible.
Shen Wanqing finally decided to turn to martial cultivation.
…Heaven and earth are vast…
Just as Shen Wanqing led the camp team forward, the scouting sentry dogs barked lowly.
Shen Wanqing immediately had the officers and soldiers form military formation, then stared ahead. Only to see a gust of wind appear in the jungle, leaves of trees in many places shaking, but this tree swaying was abnormal.
If it were wind blowing trees, it would be uniform shaking in patches; but now it’s chaotic shaking at various points, clearly something hidden in the bushes.
Shen Wanqing took a deep breath, walked to the front of the formation, while mobilizing whole body blood qi. Like fierce Zhang Fei on the Long Bridge, with a loud shout. The sand, stones, and soil ahead all trembled.
But if sound waves could be seen, these sound waves did not diffuse, but impacted in bundles. The focus of the sound beams was exactly those places where trees were shaking.
Those originally shaking places immediately manifested layers upon layers of tree spirits in a blur, and among them mixed some strange humanoid races. Clearly they had just used magic to hide their figures.
And this magic, Shen Wanqing happened to know, called “one leaf blinds the eye.”
To break this spell, the most orthodox is sound system magic, could be qin music, or beating drums, of course Shen Wanqing used the simplest direct loud shout.
When these enemies manifested, the sixty soldiers behind Shen Wanqing began shooting with armor-piercing arrows.
These arrows flew into mid-air, flames erupting. This was because the arrowheads contained cotton soaked in oil.
This flame weapon has been proven in previous battles to have killing effect more effective than ordinary arrows or even firearms.
Rows of tree spirits fell, a fragrance of plant sap wafting out. But at this time this smell mixed with burnt oil taste was very unpleasant (refer to the smell after a diesel engine harvests green grass).
Subsequent firearm troops also arrived, continuously volley firing, like sickles shattering the tree spirits’ branches into pieces, but also with screams from those humanoid races mixed in.
Under sustained firepower suppression, the tree spirits originally preparing ambush and the allied forces of special humanoid races mixed among them began to retreat. But they had already been locked by the military camp’s hunting dogs.
With the signal soldier’s fireworks exploding in the sky.
Wen Si Ting soared over first on his tiger. The subsequent Fire Rhinoceros Cavalry then charged in pursuit at twenty kilometers per hour. The impact force of heavy cavalry is extremely terrifying, the tree spirits and those humanoids’ weapons couldn’t leave marks on the outer ceramic armor plates, instead they were crushed into withered branches and fallen leaves.
One of them, limping, covered in leaves, raised a knife to defend itself. But was lassoed by Wen Si Ting’s thrown rope.
This creature was captured alive, then surrounded by curiously watching soldiers. And someone touched its back covered in leaves’ wings, mischievously pinching to check if the leaves were real or fake.
